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Scientists Uncover 2 New Stick Insect Species in Australia, One Fooled Experts for 50 Years!
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Moneycontrol•23-09-2026, 11:29
Scientists Uncover 2 New Stick Insect Species in Australia, One Fooled Experts for 50 Years!
- •Researchers from the University of Sydney identified two new species of large stick insects in Australia, including one that had been misidentified for decades.
- •The study, published in Austral Entomology, revised the Anchiale genus, revealing five distinct species where only two were previously recognized.
- •Anchiale robusta, known since 1976, was confirmed as a distinct species through DNA evidence and physical characteristics, having been previously mistaken for another.
- •The second new species, Anchiale mabiensis, was discovered in Queensland's critically endangered Mabi rainforest on the Atherton Tablelands.
- •The discovery highlights the incomplete documentation of Australia's insect biodiversity, even in well-studied areas, despite numerous citizen-science observations.
Key Questions Answered
Researchers identified Anchiale robusta, a larger species that was previously misidentified for decades, and Anchiale mabiensis, which is a genuinely new species found in Queensland's Mabi rainforest.
Anchiale robusta is found in coastal rainforests ranging from Tully to north of Cooktown in Far North Queensland, while Anchiale mabiensis has been recorded exclusively in the critically endangered Mabi Forest on the Atherton Tablelands.
Anchiale robusta had been known to scientists and enthusiasts with records dating back to at least 1976, meaning it fooled researchers for about 50 years before being recognized as a distinct species.
